Main Page

Positive Feedback:
  • Navigation – nice job incorporating links back to your blogs.
  • Layout/Design – the page is clearly designed, making it easy for readers to find all information. The use of white space is terrific, and the font sizes and colors are very readable.
  • Intro paragraphs – well-written and clearly explain what PBL is and why teachers should consider using it.

Suggested Improvements:
  • Heading/Title – is there one? Is it “PLN3’s The Right Stuff!”? If so, it should be bigger than the subheadings so readers clearly see the title of the page when they first enter.
  • Resource List – where is it?
  • Planning info – add a brief description of each aspect of planning so readers better understand the main points.
  • Subheadings – not all are the same size (Why is smaller than What).
  • Graphics – I know they relate to your project, but they don’t relate to the introductory information. It would be better to show students working collaboratively or embed a streaming video about PBL, either of which would add to the content for this specific page.
  • Wikilinks - there are ample key words to hyperlink on this page...but no wikilinks appear.



Brainstorming

Positive Feedback:
  • Conclusion – this was not a required element, but I really appreciate you adding it to the page. It helps me clearly understand your process and your plan for the project.
  • Mind map – good size for the page.
  • Graphics – nice job incorporating a caption into the solar system photo.

Suggested Improvements:
  • Add a hyperlink to the bubbl.us reference so people can access the site directly from your wiki page.



“The Right Stuff”

Introduction – This was not required, but is very effective in setting the tone and giving us a frame of reference. I would suggest you avoid first-person narrative unless you add your name to the end of the paragraph or page.

Description – The project is very briefly outlined, and I understand what the kids are going to produce, but I encourage you to go a little further in your thinking. What exactly will the students be doing when they “learn more” or “learn about” planets/space exploration? Will they be completing specific activities? Will they be listening and watching or actively participating? What object will they recover (different objects may require different ship designs). How will they construct their ships? What criteria will they use? Also, be consistent with how you present the information – some of the steps are punctuated, others are sentence fragments (complete sentences with correct punctuation is preferred). IMPORTANT – you never state the intended grade level??!!

Outcome – Ahh! Here is some of the missing description information. In this paragraph, you begin to explain specific criteria required for presentations. This should also be incorporated into the description paragraph. Your outcomes are clearly stated and it is easy for me to understand what you are sking the kids to produce.

Standards – This is OUTSTANDING. I am very impressed with the amount of work that went into this section. Not only do you provide specific standards, you also explain how and why those standards appear in the list. BRAVO!!

Driving Question – This question is well-stated, but you will need to add some sort of reflection activity to the project to answer it. Your project outcome (presenting information) DOES NOT answer the question – the students need to be asked to SYNTHESIZE what has been presented to give you an answer. It would be good to add a reflection activity anyway – otherwise, why are you having them present to each other? If you don’t hold them accountable for the information being shared, it will become “white noise” and they won’t retain any of what was said.

Tech Integration – What is here is adequate, but you are missing some technology: a projector (for presentations), a digital camera (to take pictures of spaceships and incorporate them into the presentation), perhaps a TV for watching videos or a document camera for displaying books or pages of information.

NOTE: Because you did not claim individual authorship, I will assess you collectively for all required criteria.



Summary

Much of your PBL wiki is successful! The pages are consistently designed and easy to navigate. The project idea is creative and will easily engage students. The activities are based on real-world applications. It is unfortunate you forgot to include Resource links or wikilinks, and the project description could be more fully developed. The curriculum connections are truly impressive! Nicely done!

smile.jpgMrs. Langston